If there’s one thing we’ve learned from covering Collins over the last two seasons, it’s that he doesn’t change his ingrained habits. Nori Aoki, Jose Reyes, and Asdrubal Cabrera led off for the Mets. Cabrera is the youngest of those players at 31. Meanwhile, Dom Smith and Amed Rosario are “protected” from getting an additional developmental at-bat by hitting in the bottom of the order. Gavin Cecchini may not fit in the Mets’ future, but Collins won’t even give him a chance. Just like we saw with Michael Conforto, Collins is unwilling to play the rookies. Ironically, the one thing Collins did well his last year in Anaheim was play 22-year old Troy Glaus every day.

Seth Lugo pitched four innings and 76 pitches before getting pulled for a pinch hitter. Lugo had some command issues, but he didn’t walk anybody and only gave up two runs. Then we saw Collins’ typical bullpen management. Chasen Bradford came in for the fifth. Josh Smoker got two outs, hit a batter, and Collins turned to Paul Sewald to get a righty. Sewald struck out Makiel Franco, sat down for half an inning, then came back for the seventh. Naturally he wasn’t as sharp, getting a strikeout then walking the next three batters. Collins has developed a bad habit of using a second reliever for part of an inning, sitting that pitcher down, then calling that pitcher back up for more work.

At a certain point, most Mets fans probably just want the season to end, Unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t even get that right on Saturday, Rookie callup Jamie Callahan came in for Sewald with the bases loaded, one out and a 4-2 lead. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Aaron Altherr and then a hard single to Rhys Hoskins, trying the game at four. Both the Mets and Phillies went to some of their best relievers, and A.J. Ramos was actually able to throw a 1-2-3 inning. Hoskins drove a ball to deep left-center in the tenth but couldn’t get it out of the park with the wind blowing in. Reyes came up with two on in the 11th but swung at every 3-2 pitch out of the zone until he missed one. Finally Cabrera, hit a three-run homer to put more runs on the board and Jeurys Familia threw a 1-2-3 inning for the save.

Media Meltdown, Continued

Sandy Alderson met with reporters before Saturday’s game to take responsibility for what he called a breakdown of the team’s professional culture, saying, “I’m the leader of this group. I feel responsible for every aspect of this operation, particularly in those areas where they fall short.” However, Alderson did not deny Marc Carig’s reporting that owner Fred Wilpon prevented the front office from firing Collins. Alderson was probably smart to avoid directly commenting on Collins’ bullpen use, since Collins continued to make the same mistakes against yesterday. More than anything else, Alderson seemed upset that someone would talk to a beat reporter about the club’s many obvious problems.

The Mets will play their last game of the season today. Noah Syndergaard will throw 20-25 pitches. Then the Mets’ taxed bullpen will go one final game and every Mets fan will wait on Twitter to see if (when) Collins is officially told he won’t get a new contract.

Photo credit: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports

The fine people of Springfield foretell the madness of 2017. Instead of recognizing their obvious mistake, Homer and the other people of Springfield conclude there must be treasure if they dig deep enough. Cut to Homer, Chief Quimby, Otto, and the mayor standing in a 40-foot hole. There’s no treasure in sight. They didn’t even bring a rope to try and climb out of the hole. Otto asks “how are we going to get out of here?” Homer: “We’ll dig our way out!” As the credits roll, Quimby yells “no, no. Dig up stupid!”

The Mets’ season went off the rails on April 30 when Noah Syndergaard felt some soreness, declined an MRI, then tore his lat muscle pitching against the Nationals. Washington ran away with the division, while the Mets bungled one injury after another en route to a likely fourth place finish. With nothing to play for, the Mets decided they would bring Syndergaard back for one inning in their final homestand of the season. It felt like they were committed to dig their way out of injuries by continuing to overextend players!

Syndergaard threw all of five pitches against the Nationals’ starting lineup. Thankfully, he didn’t leave with another injury. He just gave up three hard hit balls, but two of them were right at fielders to get out of the inning. It’s impossible to say just how sharp or ready he was based on that sample size. Then again, the main way to know for sure is if you push a player too far and he gets hurt again. Hopefully the Mets will avoid this style of injury “management” for the last week of the season.

Matt Harvey came in for the second, making his first “relief” outing of his career. Most teams this far out of the playoffs would shut down pitchers like Syndergaard and Harvey. Then again, most teams realized Major League Baseball moved to a 10-day disabled list this year while Sandy Alderson continued to avoid putting players the DL if possible. I can imagine him saying “There’s got to be a team of able-bodied players who can win the division if we just keep digging deep!”

Brandon Nimmo gave Harvey a lead in the third and Kevin Plawecki added two more runs with a seeing eye single up the middle. Harvey was able to keep the Nationals off the scoreboard his first time through the lineup by being effectively wild. However, when he left a changeup middle-away, Adam Lind sat on the pitch and drove it opposite field for a two run homer. Matt Wieters crushed a mistake fastball to tie the game in the fifth. Harvey was done after four innings and 80 pitches.

The Nationals pulled Stephen Strasburg after 83 pitches, making the game a battle of the bullpens. Early in the season this would be doom for Washington, but they have only blown one save since the All-Star break. Terry Collins used five pitchers to get through the next four innings. With a tie game in the ninth, Collins turned to Jeurys Familia instead of A.J. Ramos. Familia threw a strong inning, but the Mets couldn’t score against the relatively hapless Sammy Solis in the bottom of the ninth. Since Collins had used all his reliable relievers, he turned to rookie Jacob Rhame in the top of the 10th. Daniel Murphy may be struggling, but he’s still able to hit game winning homers against the Mets, as New York lost 4-3.

Around the League:

Donald Trump called on NFL owners to fire any player who chose not to stand for the national anthem on Friday night. Professional sports didn’t seem like a major part of Alabama’s special election for the Senate. However, Trump’s initial comments on Friday night and continued criticism of black football and basketball players has drawn widespread attention from the sports world. On Saturday night, Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell – who was born on a US Army base – became the first MLB player to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.

Baseball encourages players to fit in and not show too much “disrespect.” Hitters still run the risk of getting a 95 mile per hour fastball thrown at them for flipping their bat in celebration of a home run. Rookies still get hazed in many clubhouses. It takes tremendous courage for a 26-year-old rookie to take a political stand.

If this happened a month ago, I imagine reporters would have flocked to Curtis Granderson’s locker after Saturday’s game. Granderson is a veteran who won the Roberto Clemente award for community service. He’s always been a conscientious voice on social and political issues. Now that Granderson is in Los Angeles, it’s hard to think of a Met who would speak up. This problem isn’t limited to the Mets. We expect black athletes to be the sports world’s leaders in speaking out against racial injustice. However, the percentage of African Americans on Opening Day rosters this year was 7.1 percent, the lowest since 1958.

As several NFL owners joined their players and commissioner Roger Goddell in condemning Trump’s divisive remarks, and the NBA’s stars spoke out, the relative silence from baseball has been deafening. Baseball can’t dig its way out of this hole by repeating the history of Jackie Robinson integrating professional sports. Current generations continue to face racial injustice. We can all see the difference between institutions that cling to the past and institutions that work towards promoting a more just future. If the last few weeks have taught us anything about activism, it’s that people who stand in the dugout when given a great pitch to swing at stick out like a sore thumb.

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

Of course, 2017 hasn’t worked anything like the Mets had hoped. Those hapless Braves have a better record than the should-have-been-a-contender Mets. Jacob deGrom has been an ace, but he’s been the only healthy ace. Brandon Nimmo and replacement level pickup Nori Aoki were fueling the offense. Nonetheless, Saturday’s big win reminded fans of what could have been instead of a team just playing out the stretch while booking tee times.

deGrom dominates: Jacob deGrom scattered five hits over seven strong innings as, once again, the Mets’ ace relied on command and attacking the strike zone. Of course it’s easier to rely on command when you can throw the ball past people at 95 miles per hour, but deGrom hasn’t pitched this efficiently throughout the entire season. He racked up the walks trying to blow everyone away in May, and his walks have crept up again over three disappointing starts. On Saturday, deGrom recommitted himself to efficiency and overpowered the thin Braves lineup.

Offense strikes quickly: The Mets got to former ace R.A. Dickey in a hurry. Juan Lagares singled past second baseman Ozzie Albies and Dom Smith motored around from second to score in the second inning. Gavin Cecchini drove in Travis d’Arnaud to get his first of three hits. Aoki, Nimmo, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive doubles in the third to score two more runs. Cecchini singled in another run in the fourth and Smith capped the Mets’ offense with a two-out double in the seventh.

Bullpen hangs on: After a week of bad losses, Terry Collins turned to Jeurys Familia and A.J. Ramos to give them some work. Familia looked rusty as the Braves put the first three pitches in to play. A.J. Ramos started worse, walking leadoff batter Kurt Suzuki. He followed up with a wild pitch and collided with Smith going for a pop up. Ramos dug a bigger hole looking for the perfect game ending pitch against Jace Peterson, going to a full count, and giving up a single on a fastball over the middle. Ramos looked for another perfect pitch and gave up a two-run single. Once Dan Warthen came out and told Ramos to throw strikes, he was finally able to get the last out.

Yesterday’s Terry Collins headscratcher: After scoring two runs off Dickey, the Mets had runners on the corners with one out. Collins asked deGrom to put down a suicide squeeze bunt. Against the knuckleballer! DeGrom missed the sign and pulled the bat back, leaving Lagares hung out to dry.

What’s Next? Julio Teheran makes his fifth start against the Mets in 2017. Even in a down year, the Braves’ most established pitcher has been effectively wild against the Mets, limiting hitters to a .596 OPS.

Photo credit: Adam Hagy – USA Today Sports

Any time a pitcher is among the league leaders in walks, we probably imagine they are a “Wild Thing” like Ricky Vaughn from Major League. Some pitchers can be pretty effective even if they don’t quite know where the ball is going. When it comes to real life wild things, we expect inconsistency. Sometimes the pitcher knows exactly where the pitch is going and they get a strikeout. Sometimes they throw it to the backstop. Montero stands out because his walks are so consistent and predictable. He has the walks, but rarely flashes the upside and potential of other young starters with high walk rates.

Montero’s last batter sums up his approach pretty well. The Mets led 2-1 in the top of the fifth. Montero must have known he needed to be more efficient to go beyond the fifth, but he didn’t change his approach. With one on and two outs, he threw four straight changeups to Scott Schebler. Three of the changeups were out of the zone. Montero wanted to end his outing on a “perfect” pitch and kept nibbling out of the strike zone. Down 3-1, he threw a slider and managed to get a ground ball to end the inning.

That’s what we get in a relatively good Montero outing. He didn’t leave any mistakes over the middle of the plate. He didn’t hang any breaking balls. Montero seemed to be going out of his way to avoid the strike zone. He carried himself like a pitcher who was executing his game plan. His game plan was just so risk averse that Reds’ hitters could stare at ball four and take their free base.

We’ve all seen young pitchers who were wild to start their big league careers, then learn some command. Randy Johnson started his career with so little command that the Expos gave up on him before he blossomed into a Hall of Famer (editor’s note: This is not to imply that Rafael Montero is a future Hall of Famer). Montero had a few good starts, but for the most part he looks like the exact same pitcher he was when he got called up in 2014. He seems so afraid of big league hitters that he refuses to enter the strike zone any more than possible.

When I watched Robert Gsellman earlier this season, I didn’t get the same feeling. Gsellman was clearly trying to throw a sinker with more downwards break than lateral break. However, he couldn’t get that pitch to move like it did in 2016. The sinker was always flat. He either hung his slider or missed well out of the zone. Watching Gsellman, it was clear that the ball was not going where he intended it to go. That’s a mechanical issue that some pitchers can fix. Watching Montero last night, it felt clear that there is no obvious mechanical fix to improve his command.

Kevin Plawecki gave the Mets all the offense they would need with a two-run homer in the second. Dom Smith added a clutch two-out run in the sixth, and the Mets tacked on three more in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Phil Evans, who won the AA Eastern League batting title in 2016, got his first big league hit with a hustle double down the third base line.

It wouldn’t be a Mets game without some bizarre managing, and Terry Collins gave us another head-scratcher in the seventh. Matt Reynolds was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Travis Taijeron was on deck, but Collins pulled him back and asked Jacob deGrom to pinch bunt. A day after Milwaukee’s Jimmy Nelson hurt his rotator cuff running the bases, I can’t see why the Mets would risk deGrom with additional play in the field. If Taijeron isn’t good enough to play on a depleted roster, why is he on the 40-man roster? Then again, this is the team that keeps starting Jose Reyes instead of seeing if Gavin Cecchini can play. deGrom ended up walking and Amed Rosario came in as a pinch runner.

What’s Next?

The Mets look for a sweep against the Reds. Tanking is harder than it looks.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Sinkerball pitchers rely on late downward movement to induce weak ground balls, but Gsellman hasn’t had that in 2017. His fastball tends to tail in to right-handers more than it tails down. The Nationals looked at Gsellman’s poor command and put together a simple game plan: take the pitch that starts near the bottom of the strike zone, because it will sink out of the zone. Take most of the breaking pitches, because Gsellman can’t throw them for strikes consistently. Just wait for mistakes and hit them up the middle. And it worked, as the Nationals got nine hits in 21 at-bats, versus only five swings and misses.

If the Mets played outstanding infield defense, Gsellman’s outing may not have been so bad. In the bottom of the first, Wilmer Difo grounded to Wilmer Flores at first. Gsellman had to look down to find the bag, so he took his eye off Flores’ wide throw and missed the catch. Anthony Rendon doubled, and Difo scored on a wild pitch. Adam Lind grounded up the middle to Rosario, who was shifted perfectly. The young shortstop thought he could wait for the ball to reach him then throw home, but Rendon read the play perfectly and beat the throw. Then Matt Wieters struck out. If the Mets made either of those two fielding plays, it would end the inning. Instead, Gsellman gave up a single, a walk, and another single before retiring the pitcher for the last out.

Gsellman didn’t get much better. Terry Collins pushed him to go four innings because of today’s doubleheader in a futile attempt to save the bullpen. The Mets were able to get a run back in the third inning off of a Jose Reyes double and Juan Lagares line drive single. By the end of the fourth inning, it was 6-1 Nationals. Ironically Gsellman lowered his ERA because his error made all of the first inning runs unearned.

Flores was the main bright spot in this dreary game. He went 4-for-4 with a home run and an opposite field double in the eighth that made the score 6-4. Nationals fans probably looked at their bullpen and said “this can’t be happening again!” Kevin Plawecki singled with two outs to bring up Travis Taijeron to the plate as the potential go-ahead run. It could have been a storybook moment. Rookie callup takes a cross-country redeye and delivers a go-ahead RBI in his first big league game.  Taijeron reached for the first pitch and broke his bat on a routine grounder to end the threat.

Jeurys Familia came in for the first time since May 10 and didn’t look close to regaining his closer role. He couldn’t get the sinker down or get any swings and misses. Instead, he gave up four hits, two walks, and allowed three runs to score. The scariest moment was when he threw inside to Adrian Sanchez as he was attempting to bunt. The 97 mph fastball hit Sanchez square in the chest, knocking him down for several minutes. Sanchez stayed in the game and hit an RBI single before being lifted for a pinch runner.

Roster Moves:

With a left-hander on the mound, Terry Collins sat out Dominic Smith once again. Collins was terrified of giving Michael Conforto opportunities against lefties, so this might be the same pattern. On the other hand, the Mets have not had an off day since Smith was called up on August 10. It may be a good idea to give the remaining healthy players a few days off to make sure they don’t get ground in to the disabled list as well. I’m not going to worry as much unless Smith is benched versus a lefty after an off day or after he’s already been benched.

Jose Reyes came off the disabled list and led off against the left-hander. Hopefully this is a sign that the front office wants to tank. There’s no other reason to give Reyes regular starts at this point. The Mets need to see if Flores could play second or third every day. They also need to see if callup Gavin Cecchini can hit at the major league level. With Cespedes out, Brandon Nimmo played left field and Taijeron played right. There is no natural outfielder on the bench, so expect this configuration for a while.

What’s Next?

It’s a Sunday doubleheader. Tommy Milone faces Tanner Roark in the day game, 1:35 p.m. on SNY. The night game is on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Seth Lugo and Max Scherzer are both expected to come off the DL to start the nightcap.

Photo credit: Brad Mills – USA Today Sports

You could say none of the Mets’ games really matter at this point, since there’s no way the team can make the playoffs. All we’d really hope for is avoiding injuries that could carry over into next season, like Michael Conforto’s shoulder injury. Cespedes has had issues with both legs, but it was his left hamstring that kept him out earlier this season. After the game, Sandy Alderson said the hamstring injuries are comparable in location and severity, so Cespedes is headed to the disabled list.

In some ways, Friday’s 4-2 win against the Nationals feels beside the point. The Nationals have such a big league in the division that they could afford to play a B lineup after arriving in Washington at 5 a.m. The Mets played all their healthy players and it still looked like a spring training game in August. Brandon Nimmo, Juan Lagares, and Matt Reynolds patrolled the outfield, batting 1-2-3. Asdrubal Cabrera hit cleanup.

Once Cespedes got hurt, he immediately limped to the dugout. You know it’s bad when he doesn’t talk his way in to staying in the game. Cole had allowed four of the first five runners to reach base, so he got to have a nice long chat with his catcher and pitching coach. From this point, Cole dominated the depleted Mets, allowing only three more baserunners while striking out seven.

Jacob deGrom probably knew he’d have to carry more of the load. Early on he was throwing 99 mph – more velocity than he’d shown at any other point this year. He went right after Washington’s less than intimidating lineup, with first pitch strikes to 21 of 29 batters. The Mets’ ace got two outs in the eighth with a 3-0 lead before giving up a double to Andrew Stevenson and an RBI single to Adrian Sanchez. Jerry Blevins came in to strike out Daniel Murphy as the potential tying run. In the top of the ninth, Nimmo singled with two outs, stole second and came around to score an insurance run on a Lagares single. Then Lagares caught Jose Lobaton napping, stealing two more bases but ending stranded at third.

Jeurys Familia came off the disabled list today, but Terry Collins called on newly established closer A.J. Ramos for the save. Ramos pitched like he doesn’t want to be the Mets closer next year. Adam Lind homered on the first pitch. Wilmer Difo doubled. Michael Taylor made the first out, but then Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters pinch walked to load the bases. Howie Kendrick hit a sharp liner to right, but Nimmo was able to come up with a game-saving grab. Then Ramos finally got a bit of command, striking out Stevenson to end the game.

Roster Updates:

The Mets entered Friday’s game with only 11 position players on the 25 man roster. Familia took Conforto’s spot. Reynolds had to fill in for Cespedes since there was no outfielder on the bench. The only minor league outfielder on the 40-man roster is Wuilmer Becerra, a 22-year-old struggling in his second season at high-A ball. They will probably have to add someone to the roster.

With Seth Lugo and Tommy Milone scheduled to pitch two of the three games over the weekend, it’s understandable that the Mets may want to carry an extra pitcher. However, only having 11 bats is pushing it and 10 certainly doesn’t work. Let’s see if anyone can fly from Las Vegas to Washington for an early afternoon start.

Photo credit: Brad Mills – USA Today Sports

If this were football or basketball, I think we’d hear a lot more fans chanting “tank tank tank!” But the Mets play six or seven times a week. None of us wants to watch a loser every single day. Even if losing may be better for the long term future of the franchise, it’s harder to sit through when the game is on every day. A few games like Saturday’s 8-1 win over the Marlins can make the depressing outlook for the rest of 2017 a bit more tolerable.

The matchup of Rafael Montero and Vance Worley hardly screamed pitchers duel. Montero has been a smidge below replacement this year and he was the more successful starter. But when you have a matchup of two below .500 teams in late August, weird things can happen. Montero threw more fastballs inside and challenged everyone but Giancarlo Stanton. Maybe someone told him if he keeps nibbling he won’t have a job next year. Maybe Montero looked behind him and saw the sure-handed Rosario at shortstop instead of Jose Reyes. The Mets’ new infield tied a club record with five double plays. Even the Mets seemed baffled by their improved defense.

Worley pitched in the high 80s, but he was able to keep the Mets off balance with his fastball movement until the sixth inning. Matt Reynolds opened with a pinch hit walk on a borderline pitch. Brandon Nimmo singled and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. Yoenis Cespedes singled, then both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Miami brought the infield in with runners at second and third, but shortstop Miguel Rojas let a ball get under his glove and both runs scored. Wilmer Flores followed up with a home run to make it 5-1 Mets and the rout was on. Rojas made another error, Kevin Plawecki hit his first big league home run of the year, and Dom Smith homered in the eighth to make it an 8-1 final.

Roster Moves:

Plawecki was called up from Triple-A because the Cubs claimed backup catcher Rene Rivera off waivers earlier on Saturday. Players get claimed on waivers all the time in August. Usually teams pull the player back from waivers or try to make a trade, but there is no indication that the Mets tried to get anything from the Cubs in exchange for Rivera. They didn’t even ask for a bag of chips. Of course, the Wilpons can use the cash savings from shedding Rivera’s contract to buy a bag of chips. I doubt the market for Rivera was that strong at this point in the season, but it still feels odd to write transaction analysis where one team didn’t get anything in return but minor salary relief. I guess the main thing the Mets get is one last chance to see whether Plawecki can hit enough at the major league level to be worth a roster spot in 2018.

As Lukas Vlahos mentioned yesterday, the Mets traded Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash. Granderson has done so much for the Mets and for the community that it doesn’t feel right to analyze this move in a strict “what did the Mets get in return?” analysis. Granderson signed with the Mets after suffering a major injury with the Yankees. Most analysts – including me – thought it was an overpay for a declining player. He provided 13.2 wins above replacement and his humanitarian work meant far more than any measure can quantify. If anyone deserves a token move to get one last good shot at a championship, it’s Curtis Granderson.

Now that Granderson has been traded, Jacob deGrom and Jerry Blevins are the only players who have been on the active 25-man roster the entire season. Everyone else has been injured at some point, called up from Triple-A, or dealt to another team. Ironically, Asdrubal Cabrera is the one impending free agent who hasn’t been traded. After the Mets had to press Travis d’Arnaud in to service as an emergency infielder on Wednesday, the Mets may be afraid to deal any more infielders?

What’s Next?

deGrom takes the mound vs. Adam Conley, who gave the Mets fits in three starts last year.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

The Mets could easily make more deals. Asdrubal Cabrera isn’t hitting as well this year, but he’s still on pace to be more than a two win player. Curtis Granderson’s on base percentage has recovered enough after his awful start, so a few contenders may look at him as a fourth outfielder. There are enough potential contenders in the AL Wild Card and NL Central that a team may be willing to give up a little something to get one of these Mets. We don’t know who the Brewers gave up to get Walker, but the second baseman has been less valuable than either Cabrera or Granderson so far this season. I know, that’s surprising. It’s mainly an indictment of Walker’s health.

Once teams clear “inventory,” they tend to play their younger players. It’s important to emphasize the word tend in that sentence, because we’re talking about the Mets under Terry Collins. First baseman Dominic Smith has started two games for the Mets, and he’s been pulled both times. On Saturday, Smith came up as the tying run with one out in the top of the ninth inning. Lefty sidearmer Hoby Milner was in for the Phillies. Smith’s best tool is his ability to hit for contact. Why not give him a chance against a lefty specialist? After all, don’t the Mets want to eventually rely on Smith every day? Collins clearly wasn’t interested in this long term planning and he instead went to Wilmer Flores. Philly countered with right-hander Luis Garcia for two easy outs to end the game.

I cant help but compare Collins’ managing to the Phillies game plan. Rookie callup Rhys Hoskins is batting cleanup. It doesn’t matter that the Sacramento State alum was never tabbed as a top prospect or that he’s still hitless. Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin is acting like Hoskins is the best prospect of the ones who have been called up so far, so he’s going to keep getting his at-bats, even though they are playing him out of position. It may not be the best strategy to win games, but that’s not the point. The Phillies know they aren’t making the playoffs. They accept that losing and getting a better draft slot is in their long-term interest. They also know the more they play Hoskins now, the more they can figure out how much he belongs in their long term plans.

What is the Mets’ overall plan? Clearly the team isn’t building for the short term. They have made four trades and Alderson is still openly talking about how he has inventory left. None of the Mets’ trades have been particularly forward thinking. The team didn’t get exciting prospects back for Lucas Duda, Jay Bruce, or Addison Reed. They did, however, get a short-term reduction in payroll. Collins manages for short-term wins, even if it impedes player development.

When teams are bad, one of the biggest things that fans want to see is a coherent plan for how to get better. Plans don’t always work. We know that. We also know plans are more likely to work when everyone, from ownership on down, is on the same page. The Mets act like they don’t know whether they are coming or going. It’s hard not to wonder about ownership. Have the Wilpons given Alderson and Collins instructions about the direction of the team? Does Collins think he has to squeeze every win out of a lost season to keep his job? Would the Wilpons actually reward this kind of short-term strategy?

Sadly, anyone who has followed this team long enough knows the answer to that question. I’m probably more excited about the Walker deal than any other Mets trade because the club officially announced they were sending some cash as part of the deal. Maybe there’s a bit of long-term planning and hope here after all? After a day like yesterday, I’m all for squinting as much as possible to see a glass that could be half full when I think about baseball.

Photo credit: Derik Hamilton – USA Today Sports

Great teams aren’t just a collection of great individual talent. They have players and management who are able to make adjustments throughout the season. Los Angeles found a way to get the most out of castoffs like Justin Turner and Chris Taylor. Meanwhile, Terry Collins and the Mets seem to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. As the Mets suffered another seemingly inevitable 7-3 loss to LA, it seems like the only people in Flushing making adjustments are the fans.

It was a good start to the game at least. Conforto, Wilmer Flores, and Curtis Granderson all homered in the first. Seth Lugo built off the strong end of his last start in Seattle by retiring 14 of the first 15 batters he faced. He relied on his slider more than past outings, commanding the glove side of the strike zone. Everyone thinks about Lugo’s high spin rate curveball, so a tight slider is a surprise.

Lugo’s unexpected success gave Terry Collins a tough decision. Lugo had only given up one hit and one unintentional walk. He was at 70 pitches. However, Lugo has allowed 40.6 percent of runners to reach base his third time through the lineup this season. Do you tell Lugo congratulations on five great innings and pull him so he leaves on a positive note? Or do you push Lugo to pitch more and risk a sudden implosion?

Anyone who has spent any time watching the Mets the last few years can predict what happened, even if you didn’t watch Saturday’s game. Collins left Lugo in and he lost command of his slider almost immediately. Chris Taylor led off the sixth with a home run. Lugo managed to retire Corey Seager but Turner singled and Cody Bellinger homered to tie the game at three. Collins has never learned when he is pushing one of his starters too far. I would cut other managers some slack, but Collins made the exact same mistake with Steven Matz on Tuesday.

Collins trying to squeeze every last out from his starters creates more problems down the line. Lugo ran out of gas so quickly that Paul Sewald had to rush his warmup then come in quickly to try and get out of the mess. He got one out, sat down for the bottom of the sixth, then had to pitch again and immediately gave up a leadoff home run to Yasiel Puig. Since Sewald retired the next three hitters, he got dragged out again for the top of the eighth…and gave up another home run!

When you don’t have the best raw talent, it’s even more important for management to put players in a position to succeed. Collins keeps burning his starters and then putting relievers in a position to fail. To make matters worse, he double switched to bring in Sewald. Flores left the game and Jose Reyes came in to hit ninth. Forget Flores’ reputation as a “lefty masher” – his OPS against righties is .161 higher than Reyes. The Mets get nothing from double switching and forcing Neil Walker to play first base for the first time in his big league career. But Collins is obsessed with double switches. Once Collins put his reliever in the fourth spot, he had to make another double switch, removing Conforto from the game. It’s fitting that Travis d’Arnaud – who eventually pinch hit for Conforto’s vacated spot – made the final out.

Photo credit: Wendell Cruz – USA Today Sports

WHEN AND WHERE

Game 1: Friday @ 7:10 p.m. from Citi Field (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

Game 2: Saturday @ 4:10 p.m. from Citi Field (TV: SNY & FS1; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

Game 3: Sunday @ 8 p.m. from Citi Field (TV: ESPN; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

BASEBALL WEATHER

Friday: Scattered thunderstorms late. 50% chance of rain. 11 mph wind. Low of 73.

Saturday: Early thunderstorms should blow over before the game. Party cloudy, 10-20 mph wind, high of 84.

Sunday: Cloudy with chance of rain going up to 60% as the night goes on. Low of 70.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday: RHP Yu Darvish (6-9, 4.01 ERA, 3.06 DRA, .235 TAv, 3.8 WARP) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (12-4, 3.29 ERA, 2.91 DRA, .234 TAv, 4.2 WARP)

Yu Darvish is bound to get a lot of media attention as he switches leagues for a pennant chase. No better place to make his NL debut than New York. Darvish could easily be better than his 4.01 ERA because he has a massive home/road split since coming back from Tommy John surgery. It’s hard to know what to make of this since Texas’ hitter park reputation is overrated. Either way, Darvish’s strikeout rate has dropped this season. This is the marquee matchup of the series with Jacob deGrom on the mound for the Mets. As everything else seems to be collapsing with the Mets’ pitching staff, he, at least, has stayed consistent.

Saturday: LHP Rich Hill (8-4, 3.35 ERA, 4.38 DRA, .248 TAv, 1.0 WARP) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (5-3, 4.53 ERA, 6.67 DRA, .290 TAv, -0.7 WARP)

When the Mets played in LA, I stuck a fork in Rich Hill. He was coming off an injury and below replacement. Then he threw his best game of 2017 to that point against the Mets, striking out eight in five innings. Hill has been on a roll since: 55 strikeouts in 43 innings, versus only 37 baserunners allowed. He’s even going deeper in to games after being a strict five inning starter early this season. Seth Lugo got hammered again at the beginning of his last start in Seattle. He’s struggled so much that the three consecutive strong innings to end his outing were the bigger surprise. It’s something to build off of, at least.

Sunday: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 3.63 ERA, 4.86 DRA, .284 TAv, 0.7 WARP) vs. LHP Steven Matz (2-4, 5.50 ERA, 6.18 DRA, .299 TAv, -0.4 WARP)

Hyun-Jin Ryu has been relatively healthy this year after missing two whole season, and just making it back is an accomplishment. Ryu has had much more trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark this year, but it’s hard to know how much that is due to changes in the baseball while Ryu was injured. He’s a lefty with reverse platoon splits for his career, so it will be interesting to see what Terry Collins does with the lineup. Steven Matz looked like he was getting over his massive struggles on Tuesday before Collins left him in an inning too long (aka the Terry special). Matz has allowed an absurd 40 hits in 18.1 innings over his last five starts. Opponents have hit .444/.469/.744 in that span! He’s throwing a ton of strikes (66 percent of pitches) but it seems easy to sit on Matz’s weaker offerings and pound them.

WHO’S HOT?

Dodgers SS Corey Seager (.940 OPS, five home runs since the All Star break)

Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger (.990 OPS, five home runs since the break)

Mets OF Michael Conforto (.325/.392/.662 since the break)

Mets OF Jay Bruce (.351 OBP and four home runs on the Mets’ road trip)

WHO’S NOT?

Dodgers 2B Logan Forsythe (10-for-54 with 19 strikeouts and 2 extra base hits since the break, but taking most PA from Chase Utley)

Dodgers 3B Justin Turner (8-for-36 with 1 extra base hit his last four series)

Mets 2B Neil Walker (2-for-18 with 7 strikeouts and 3 errors since returning from the DL)

Mets IF Jose Reyes (.526 OPS on the road trip)

WHEN WE LAST MET

IT’S LITERALLY A 10-DAY DL

Amed Rosario started all three games in Colorado. Let’s see if he gets a rest day and whether Twitter melts down over it.

Hansel Robles, on the other hand, might be getting a bit more than a rest day. The reliever, who had a disastrous outing Thursday against the Rockies, complained postgame of numbness in his fingers, which, you know, not great.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“This is going to be a challenge for me, and I loved to hit when I was in the American League, as I went out there and had fun,” Darvish said. “But you have to hit every time you go out there [in the NL]. There is a little concern about it, but this is the first challenge and we will see what happens.”

“I’ve never thrown a pitch like that,” Robles said after his wild pitch walkoff walk Thursday. Jay-Z has.

Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove – USA Today Sports